e1505...pretty loaded....$1396- help me out??

Ok been trying to find a laptop and seems nobody can compete with Dell with what they offer for the price- how good of a deal is this???...

This price is from Dell w/ the 20% off coupon and a lil haggling for the best price over the phone...

My thoughts on why i want the dell- great screen(SXGA , barely offered on most comps this size-only Acer Fjp1 i think has it but 1gb less ram and about same price, like the ability to have multiple windows open with space...top specs- 2gb667 ram, 7200 HD, t7200, draft wireless, bluetooth)

Why i'm worried- some people just say thet e1505 is not worth spending a lot on- not built well? Starts to creek at screen hinges? HP was my other option but comes out to $50 bux more with a t5600 instead and a 120 5400 hd, no draft wireless, but a 12 cell battery for $$1441- opinions on that??

Also worried if I should wait for Vista since it's about a week away, I know you get the free upgrade but not sure how long it takes to ship, and if it will run cleaner if it comes pre-installed....and they might have more deals on it when it comes out...

Anyway here are the specs on the Dell:
Inspiron E1505 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
Upgrade to Windows Vista Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition
LCD Panel 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™
Memory 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM
Hard Drive 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Combo or DVD+RW Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Video Card 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™
Sound Options Integrated Audio
Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Wireless Networking Cards Hi-Speed: Dell Draft N Wireless
Bluetooth Options Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription
Dell Digital Entertainment Trial pack- Basic and trial products from Corel and Yahoo
Warranty and Service 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service
Internet Access Service 6 Months America Online Internet Access
Total:$1396


HP dv6000t in a quick summary is:
$1441- t5600 1.83, 2gb667 ram, 120gb 5400 hd, reg wireless/with bluetooth, 256 7400 go graphics, 12 cell battery, and light scribe...


What are the toughts here?? Seems like the Dell is more loaded with a nicer screen and a battery that doesn't stick out, but the HP is built better- Which is the better deal?

Thanks for the help.

 

have you tried looking in the dell outlet? you can save a bundle there if your paitent, and all outlet systems have the same waranty and service options as new systems, the only thing to watch would be if you have your heart set on a free vista upgrade, make sure its listed with the system, if it isnt, you wont get it

http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb

If you still want to order new I suggest lowering your ram and your hard drive to the cheapest option, and upgrading them from a place like newegg or zipzoomfly, you will save a significant amount of money

vista will not run cleaner preinstalled, nor will xp, I highly reccomend you format your hard drive and reinstall windows, almost all consumer level computers come loaded to the gills with crap software that does nothing but slow your system down

 

Dell Digital Entertainment Trial pack- Basic and trial products from Corel and Yahoo

If you want to purchase any inspiron and will not format for whatever reason. I suggest to edit this option to no pre-installed software. You will just have less bloatware to deal with.

 

Yea I actually did tell her to put the "no pre-installed" software option on, so thanks for pointing that out if I do decide to order it...

Any other thoughts? Should I wait and see what deals come with Vista, or go for either the Dell or HP?

 

I would never pay more than $900 for an E1505. It is a maxed out system but its a budget notebook case/look. I would look into the xps 1210. As said also look at the outlet, you can get a nice 1210 with the 7400 for the same if not lower price.

 

I got the system in my sig for less than $1000 US at the outlet, the only after market upgrade was the hard drive

 

as a dell e1505 owner im pretty happy with my system. i do have to admit that the pc can look a bit better but to me its the parts that count and not the looks. i only had the laptop for about 4 months and still works as if its new. i was in the same situation when i was buying this laptop. i was considering the hp but i chose the dell because of the things you get for the price. also i got the laptop when the 30% coupon was out so cant complain about that =D. as for the build quality its much more better then dells from the past; i bought the 4 year warranty so i wont have to worry for a while =D.

 

The system isnt bad for the price, but as stated, you could save a good bit more,dell gouges hardcore on ram and hard drive upgrades. I'm also assuming your in the US, if your in canada, it looks a good bit prettier.